With seven solid releases to their credit (you can read about their last one here), I was pretty certain that we’d love Recess Monkey’s eighth offering to the world of kindie music. But what I enjoy most about this trio of enthusiastic educators from Seattle is that they don’t just churn out the same music time after time. Instead, they find just the perfect way to capture those moments of childhood musically in new and unique ways. {Keep reading for a chance to win a copy!}
And their latest, In Tents, carries on their upbeat sound with sixteen sweet tunes loosely based on life in the circus. And though the enclosed booklet helps explain their story, I so appreciate that instead of writing song after song about the circus, they just picked a bunch of great tunes and threw them all under the big top for us to enjoy.
Word play is a big deal to Drew, Daron, and Jack, evident from the title song which gets things off to a yes–intense—start. Like a kid waiting for the show to come to town, this song will get everyone excited for what is about to unfold.
Later, songs like Bouncy House and Edwina Mae are all jumpy-cool rocking tunes that are bound to make your drive anywhere more fun. And while I am not sure anyone else could pull this off, Recess Monkey’s nod to the Beastie Boys in The Dancin’ Bear is so crazy great and pretty authentic, without a single lyric that will have you reaching for the volume knob. Recess Monkey also does tender tunes right in the I’ve-got-something-in-my-eye Crystal Ball and the ode to BFF’s everywhere, Twins.
This three-ring circus includes cool guests like CMP favorites the Sugar Free Allstars, Lunch Money, The Pop Ups, and Dean Jones. And while no circus stays in town forever, it’s easy enough to keep this one around. Just hit replay. –Christina
Grab a copy of In Tents from our affiliate Amazon. You can also get an MP3 download, though the photos in the enclosed booklet make a hard copy pretty special.
Congratulations to Israel Y, winner of an In Tents CD!
